April 7, 2017

Alt-right as the new McCains? ("Sensibly nonpartisan")

With much of the alt-right freaking out over the Syria strikes, I wonder if we're going to see an evolution of the Trump movement into a state where they become the new McCains, so to speak -- not on policies, obviously, but on the jumping off the bandwagon and broadcasting their displeasure to an audience made up of the other side, every time their side does something they don't like.

The other side being the Sanders supporters, in this new alignment of parties.

Strangely, the alt-right will be seen as the "moderate" or "sensible" Trump supporters, who do not fall in lockstep with their movement on every issue, who are eager to "reach across the aisle" -- to the Bernie people.

True, on ideology they are more extreme than the unshakable Trump supporters, just like McCain is way more out-there on ideology than McConnell or Ryan.

But in terms of emphatically and dramatically showing their non-partisanship, the analogy looks fitting.

Also, the "sensible" Republicans of the past cycle were more concerned about finding a mate from the other side, rather than someone from their own party and social-cultural background.

Likewise we see the alt-right pining after secular / leftist exotics, rather than an American girl whose uncle wears a camo Trump hat out in public.

I attribute this greater desire to please the other side to a greater rootlessness. If you're a nomad, there is no "your people," and you have to rely on connections with unfamiliar groups. If you're deeply rooted, you've got that social-emotional sustenance already, and what the out-group members think of you is irrelevant.

Bernie bros commenting on Michael Tracey's tweets have been discussing it, and there's even been mainstream coverage of it in Politico, WaPO, etc.

Cassandra Fairbanks is another big one, former Bernie babe who boarded the Trump train.

Especially among late X-ers and Millennials, there's a yuge intersection.

Alt-right people are romantically pining for exotics -- Mike Cernovich having a Persian wife, for one.

Somehow all the Middle Eastern people that get re-tweeted by alt-right people are honey bunnies rather than middle-aged or old men who know more about the topics.

I went to the timeline of one of them a few weeks ago, and she tweeted about "Why do so many thirsty alt-right guys follow me?" Her friend responded incredulous, and she said, "No really, they DM me saying that 'you and i are not so different' because we're both anti-Zionist, lol."

Maybe, but on the other hand, it could just be like they're grandstanding for attention. Rather than wanting to genuinely maintain good relations with other people, the reality could be that they just want to come out looking like roses no matter the outcome. That certainly applies in McCain's case.

Seems like the vast majority of people who discuss these things online are descended from sedentary farmers. They are the best at intellectual manipulation.

Those who are truly "adaptive" are most likely to keep their ideologies to themselves - not even to make an issue in the first place, so they can work with any other ideological camp, none-the-wiser(and not piss anyone off). To be introverted in the classic sense (rather than autistic) - circumspect rather than socially awkward.

Agnostic this is interesting as I was just thinking about this today. The hard Alt-Right types such as Richard Spencer, etc. are taking this the hardest. They are already denouncing Trump in favor of Tulsi Gabbard and Rand Paul over the Syria missile launch!

While I consider myself a hardcore Trump support as anyone, I'm not as ideologically rigid and immune to reality that the Spencer types represent. It's laughable that they are now sounding like the "TrueCon" types they so despise. It's as if we lived in an alternate reality where President Ted Cruz was elected and in his first 100 days refused to defund Planned Parenthood. Betrayal!

The most concerning issue is if the Syria escalation blows up and Trump loses the base completely. This does not have broad political support among actual voters. As you've said it's an Elite and neocon issue whether Assad remains around or not.

In fairness to the alt-right, this Syria strike and calling for regime change is a major reversal of a long-stated vision of Trump's, something he exhorted Obama not to do in 2013, and for which he lambasted Crooked Hillary in October 2016.

It's not like putting De Vos in Education -- not very Trumpian, but who cares? Suppose we don't get that tax hike on hedge fund managers? OK, kinda sad, but no big deal in the end.

This is something far more fundamental than that, and even those who have come to rally blindly around the strikes were shaken and confused at first -- not recognizing the plan or the man.

I'm taking as optimistic of a view as I can -- it's not Trump's true desire that's changed, but those who control the armed forces twisting his arm into it. If he ignores them, they can withdraw support, and there goes the basis of his authority as chief executive.

He has not changed at all on the other major issues -- immigration, trade, etc. The enemies there are not teams of men with guns who back up his authority with legitimate violence.

So I think the two main things to get across to the alt-right are:

1) Don't blame Trump himself, have faith in him and his vision. Blame those who have enough leverage to twist his arm.

2) Stay optimistic about the areas where the other side doesn't have enough leverage to twist our arm.

On the alt-right... A lot of these guys are manosphere types and that kind of thing has always been present with them. American women are "spoiled" and unfeminine... Big love for Russians, Eastern Europeans, and others. I'm a chick and it's hard to disagree a lot with this. Of course, where is the love for the gal whose uncle wears a camo hat? May be there just aren't enough (that was tried and didn't work), may be they just have little to no exposure to such a gal, or simply find them wanting like the others.

I'm a married woman, so this wasn't too much a problem, and yet, it really is the main reason I'm off Twitter now. It is totally true that I wanted to be off for some time, but kept feeling needed, but the biggest reason was a guy who had been calling me (under different pretenses). I tried to shake him off, and he finally got it, but not before my husband completely soured on me being on twitter. To keep the peace, and for something I already wanted to do anyway, I closed up shop.

I don't want to describe him in any way except that he was older and lonely.